Snow guard



C. G BUEDEL Dec. 11, 1934.

SNOW GUARD Filed May 7, 1934 3 wv e/vvbo b 60/VEHD 62 505051 Patented Dec. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention refers to snow-guards intended to be mounted on slanting roofs of buildings in sections of the country where the fall of snow on roofs is sufficient to: make dangerous situations, and more particularly tothose types of snowguards that are formed out of metal and mounted singly wherever considered desirable on the roofs. The invention has for its objects to provide a snow-guard that will be able to withstand the severe stresses of use without bending over or buckling suficiently to permanently injure them and impair their usefulness; to have the snowguard proportioned to suit the stresses it withstands as regards snow, as also to enable it to be used for sustaining boards used by repairmen when the roof is to be fixed; to have the construction simple and made from a single piece of formed material and capable of being turned out quickly in large quantities. Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more set forth.

It has been found in practice that the ordinary type of snow guard is subject to the disadvantage of being easily bent over and rendered useless, and while it is not designed or intended to be used by repair-men for sustaining their ladders, boards and other devices used in repairing roofs, it is so used and many serious accidents have arisen from such use. This invention is made primarily for holding snow from falling off slanting roofs in large quantities, and will give sufficiently to release the strain on its parts if the stress becomes excessive and will return to its original and proper position when the stress is removed. At the same time, this invention is made to fit the situation of extraneous use for repairs, and provide an additional feature without deteriorating from the utility of either function, but adding thereto.

In the drawing, which shows modifications of this invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a snow-guard as conventionally applied to a roof.

Figure 2 is a front View of the snow-guard in position on the roof.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of a snowguard embodying this invention.

Figure 4 is a modified form of the snow-guard in perspective.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

In the construction shown, 1 represents the shank of a snow-guard, having a bent staple 2 formed on it and having a sharp point 3 for forcing the staple to readily engage in the timber members of the roofs to which the shingles are attached. The shank is provided with a coil 4 which gives it a resilient feature as well as a drag action by engaging around the horizontal bar 8 and pulling against same when stressed. The coil in Figure 4 is open and simply forms around the bar with the portion 44, as indicated. The coil has an upwardly directed leg 5, which is bent into an inverted U-form with a downwardly directed leg 6, and then provided with a rearly positioned loop rest '7, from which the bar 8 is bent as indicated and run horizontally to an upwardly directed leg 10 bent with an inverted U-form and downwardly directed leg 11 and bent under the bar and extending to the rear with a projecting brace 12. The rest 9 is also provided as indicated. The rests 9 and 7 and the brace 12 are in the same plane and serve to rest the snow-guard on the roof. The legs 10, 11, and 5 and 6 as looped in the form indicated are termed the holding fingers of the device, and in being bent are made with the base or lower portion slightly further apart than at the top portion, which makes the area of pressure less there than at the bottom or base portion.

The construction may be further appreciated by describing its operation and the manner in which its functions are brought into action. The snowguard is placed into position in a conventional manner with the point and staple forced into the woodwork underlying the shingles and the fingers layers with the fingers of the snow-guard sticking. up in it. As the layer of snow slides down the roof for any reason, it presses up against the fingers and tends to bend them in the direction of the arrow. The stiffness of the wire used resists this stress but if the pressure becomes greater tends to tighten up on the coil 4, or 44 which is resisted by the staple and causes a tension stress on the shank 1. The rests '7 and 9 also rest the snow-guard on the roof and resist the tendency to turn the guard and its fingers. The projecting arm 12 is also brought into action and resiliently opposes the tendency of the snow-guard to turn over or bend the fingers. The resistence increases as the snow pressure increases and in case of excessive pressure will allow the fingers to bend sufiiciently to permit the snow to carry off the excess load without breaking the snow-guard. This action is provided by the angular bending of the fingers reducing their resisting moment and then returning. upright when the excess pressure is removed, under the resiliency of the fingers, the coil 4, the rests 7 and 9 and other parts of the device. The outward portions of the fingers are not as Wide between the legs as near the rest portions, so that the area of pressure provided will be less where the "leverage on the fingers would be greatest. This arrangement makes the base of snow-guard particularly strong to withstand the stresses wherethey are most severe and most frequent. The staple is placed at an angle so as to dig into the woodwork when pressure pulls down on the fingers, and also oppose a radial turning of the'snow-guard tending to lift the staple out of the woodwork, although the shank is covered by a shingle. It should be noted that the coil in tightening on the bar binds 'the latter and tends to torsionally act on it. This torsion action tends to pull on the rests and thus distribute the pressure even if the pressure on the fingers may difier.

While two modifications of the invention are shown in the drawing, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to these particular forms or in any other way, otherwise than limited by the prior art, as it is appreciated that other forms of constructions could be used, that would utilize the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A snow-guard comprisinga shank, a plurality of fingers attached thereto, a cross-bar connecting the bases of fingers, and a plurality of rests extending rearwardly from the cross-bar, the bases of the fingers to resist the turning action of pressure on the fingers and keep the latter comparatively upright.

2. A snow-guard comprising a wire bent into a shank with a'staple angularly disposed in re;

'gard thereto, a coil extending from the shank,

a cross-bar having the coil around it, and a plurality of rests extending rearwardly from the cross-bar and an arm extending rearwardly from the cross-bar and attached to one of the said fingers and tending to resist turning and for putting pressure against the cross-bar.

3. A snow-guard and bar rest comprising a staple with a relatively long shank having a staple bent angularly therefrom for attachment to roof members, a coil attached tothe shank, a cross-bar about which said coil is bent, and plurality of rearwardly bent rests depending from said cross-bar for providing the guard with a roof-resting-on base, a plurality of legs extending uprightly from the said cross-bar said with the upper portions converging towards each other in sets.

4. A snow-guard comprising a shank, a staple with pointed end connected thereto, a coil extending from the shank and integrally attached thereto and extending upwardly into an upright leg with its upper portion bent in inverted U- form with a downwardly depending leg, a rest rearwardly extending from the last mentioned leg and bent in U-form, a horizontally disposed U-form cross-bar with a portion extending through said coil, another rest extending rearwardly from the cross-bar, an upright leg extending from the rest having its upper portion form in an inverted U-form with its second depending leg brought down under the cross bar and extended rearwardly into a relatively long resiliently rest arm.

CONRAD G. BUEDEL. 

